8.23.2012

Ahead of Togo’s elections set to take place in
October, Togolese are taking to the streets to protests reforms made earlier
this summer that removed head of state term limits and redistricted the country’s constituency
lines.

For nearly the past 2 years, people across
Africa have been taking to the streets to voice their concerns and opinions,
and in many cases, doing so quite effectively. A year ago it was Senegal. Earlier
this year it was Nigeria. Now it is Togo’s turn.

A
Brief Political History

Togo,
a small country on the coast of West Africa, gained its independence, like most
other African states, in 1960. Togo’s first President, Sylvanus Olympio, was
assassinated 3 years after independence.

In
1967, Eyadema Gnassingbé staged a coup and managed to hold on to power until he died in 2005 after ruling Togo for 38 years. After his death, his son, Faure Gnassingbé, gained power after being implemented by the military. A year later, Gnassingbé held elections, which he claimed to have won 'democratically' by 60%; however, opposition groups claim otherwise.

June 2012 Protests

Protests broke out in Togo’s
capital, Lomé, in June when the government passed new legislation which redrew constituency boundaries based on population, thereby increasing parliament seats from 81 to 91 and favoring southern provinces over the less populated north. This move also benefited the ruling party.

The protests were also in response
to a change in the constitution which would eliminate term limits for the
president.

Angered at the unconstitutionality
of these reforms and the failure on the government’s behalf to consult with
civil society, the opposition created a campaign that calls themselves Collectif Sauvons le Togo (Let’s Save Togo).

Tens of
thousands of people protested in Lomé in June in response to the changes made by Gnassingbé. In response, the government claimed that the changes made were done so only after extensive consultations with civil society; however, judging by the large number of protestors present in Lomé, I would argue that the government was lying.

August 2012

Since June, protests have
continued and have recently gained momentum. The threat of civil society’s
bottom-up power has scared the government into recently banning street protests in commercial
centers for ‘security’ reasons.

In spite of the ban, Collectif
Sauvon le Togo (CST) planned protests that were meant to gather in the
commercial center of Deckon where they intended to stage a ‘sit-in’ at Place de l'Indépendance for three days from August 21st-23rd.

13h30 : Les leaders du CST appellent à un sit-in de 3
jours dès maintenant à la place de l’Indépendance. (The leaders of CST call for a 3 day sit-in at place
de l’Indépendance.)

16h40 : Les leaders du CST sont à la
place de l’Indépendance dont l’accès est interdit par une forte présence
policière. (The
leaders of CST are at the place de l’Indépendance but access is blocked by a large police presence.)

August 22: Day Two of Protests

At least 2,000 or more Togolese
showed up for the second day of protests in Lomé, but 10 minutes after the start of protests, police fired tear gas and
plastic bullets at protestors in the Bé neighborhood.

The recent Togolese
protests have had a large involvement by the nation’s youth. Perhaps that is
because they realize that policy decisions made today affect them for the rest
of their lives. Or perhaps it is because the upcoming generations of Africa are
more politically conscious and outspoken than the previous ones. Maybe they
realize that they are in control of their nation’s future. Or it might possibly
be because today’s ‘youth’ are more nationalistic and feel more tied to the
identity of their country than previous generations.

Regardless of the reason why youth have played
such a key role in protests and social movements across the continent in the
past few years, one thing is for sure: social media has made things a whole lot
easier.

The protests in Senegal and Nigeria (especially)
utilized Facebook and Twitter to mobilize (youth) and disseminate information.
The recent Togo protests are no different.

Collectif Sauvons le Togo has its ownTwitter andFacebookaccounts which it updates with the
latest information on policy, press releases, and of course, protest details by
using hashtags like#OccupyLome,#Deckon2and#TGInfo.

I’ve compiled some examples of how social media
is being used in these protests, which I have posted below.

Many of these social movements have a way of
starting and then slowly dying out, but given Togo’s history of practically
being a monarchy, I hope that Togolese are fed up enough to not give up until
they get what they want. Although the protests were called off for today and
the main organizer for CST said that they need to find other ways to bring about their desired change, I hope that they do not just give up. I hope that they continue
taking to the streets ahead of October so that when the election comes, the
Togolese can choose the government that they want, with no corruption, no
fraud, and no voter intimidation.

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